Bobby Hopewell met with the Kalamazoo Gazette Editorial Board at 4 p.m. Hopewell has replaced the late Robert Jones as the Democratic candidate running against Tonya Schuitmaker for the Michigan 20th District Senate seat.

With only 7 days before the Nov. 2 election, Hopewell held his first meeting with campaign volunteers last week, where more than 100 attended.

“... Yes it is unprecedented and yes it is a struggle,” said Hopewell, who was appointed a week ago by local Democrats to replace Jones on the ballot. “But this is what we’ve got and we will do all we can with what we’ve got.”

We will host a live chat and stream live video of Robert Jones' Memorial Service. Please join us Thursday at noon to share your thoughts, prayers and memories with the Kalamazoo and MLive communities. Type in your email address below to schedule a reminder for yourself.